Champions League 2025-26: Liverpool Randen Atletico Madrid with the last goal of Dijk Doel; Pafos holds Olympiakos

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk threw a final GASP goal in stopping Time to home to the men of Arne Slot for an exciting 3-2 victory over Atletico Madrid in Leiden in their opening match of the UEFA Champions League 2025-26 campaign on Wednesday on Anfield.

The game seemed to be on the way to a draw after Marcos Llorente scored twice to pull the Spaniards back in the game – for Van Dijk’s header from a corner in the 92nd minute.

Atletico manager Diego Simeone was sent away a little later after he had to be pulled away from the crowd.

Liverpool Talisman Mohamed Salah also scored and founded another on an entertaining evening who also saw the debut of the Reds of the British record signing Alexander Isak.

Liverpool stormed the gate with two goals before the match was six minutes old. Andy Robertson struck in the fourth minute in his first start of the season when Salah’s free kick took him from him and over the line past goalkeeper Jan Oblak, who was rooted on the spot.

Salah took a goal from his own two minutes later when he muscleed through three Athletico defenders after a fast one-two with Ryan Gravenberch and then walked in the far corner of a corner.

But the visitor grew out in the game and Llorente clawed one back with his first goal of the night at the rest of the break before he became the same in the 81st minute on a lush volley that brought a battering on his way.

It felt like a recurring nightmare in Anfield when Llorente played the hero against Liverpool in 2020 and scored twice when Atletico scored the Champions League.

But this time Liverpool saved the victory with more late game heroism in what a habit starts to feel. All four of his Premier League victories this season need a winner over the past 10 minutes.

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«We kept pushing,» Van Dijk said.

«We have found a way again. I am happy that I got the winner. You have to go on and show the resilience that we have been showing for many years. It was a great European evening here again. We have often shown that we can do it, and today I am the lucky one with the winner,» he added.

The Slot team wants to build on the strong competition performance of last season before the final winner Paris St Germain lost in the last 16.

Olympiakos frustrated as 10-man Pafos persist for aimless drawing

A wasteing Olympiakos could only manage a 0-0 home stretch against 10-man Pafos, who emerged as a defensive hero in their Champions League opener.

Pafos faced a major challenge of the 26th minute when Forward Bruno was rejected after receiving a second booking for an error on Lorenzo Pirola from the host, forcing the Cypriot side to play with 10 men for the rest of the game.

Despite the advantage, Olympiakos struggled, in which Ayoub El Kaabi came close in the second half with a header that drove wide.

Pafos yielded a brave defensive effort, whereby several times they blocked attempts as the opportunities for the hosts grew.

The Mehdi Taremi from Olympiakos came close to the leveling of the playing field when he initially received a straight red card for a tackle on Jaja during a pafos on the other hand, but a var review reduced it to a yellow.

While the clock ended up with a quiet match, Olympiakos assembled a final offensive, but Pafos held and breeed late efforts of Christos Mouzakitis and Taremi to seal the frustration of the host.

Published on September 18, 2025